The Time of the Doves

The Time Of The Doves (also translated as The Pigeon Girl or In Diamond Square; original Catalan-language: La plaça del Diamant, that is Diamond Square) is a 1962 novel written by exiled Catalan writer Mercè Rodoreda.

It is noted by its use of stream of consciousness. The book is named after a square in Barcelona's district of Gràcia. It is featured in Harold Bloom's The Western Canon as part of the list of canonical books of the "Chaotic Age". Arguably the author's most accomplished work, the novel has been translated into more than thirty languages and is regarded as one of the most important pieces of fiction in contemporary Catalan literature. It is also one of the staple readings in secondary school programs across Catalonia.

Dealing with the Second Spanish Republic and the Spanish Civil War, the novel is set in Barcelona before, during and after the war and pictures a young woman's struggles in life as well as her conflictive relationships with two men, and her progression from nearly complete submission until she develops a full-fledged outlook in life, personal maturity and independence. It is also a faithful chronicle of life in the city at the time, in a balanced mixture of psychologism and naturalism.

It was made into a film in 1982 directed by Francesc Betriu, and has spawned several theatre adaptations, including a play directed by Joan Ollé in 2004.

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